Tower Climber (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1) Jakob Tanner (reading comprehension books TXT) 📖

brutal pain, but I guess fake-veins really are dumber than the rest of us. Prepare to enter a realm of torture unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”

Casey wiped blood off her lip and grinned with new determination.

“Bring it on,” she said back.

83

Sakura put her hands on the glass window, overlooking the match.

Casey—Max’s friend—had just got up after taking a devastating hit from the Westley girl.

“So, the girl got up in the end,” said Samuel. “How interesting.”

Sakura bristled at his words. He knew better than to speak vile obscenities about fake-veins and pure-veins in front of her and the climber president, but that was exactly what he was thinking.

The man was obviously rooting for Sybil Westley to win; no, she thought, rooting would suggest he thought Sybil’s victory wasn’t already the inevitable outcome.

The arrogance pissed her off. It was all the same with these old prestigious families and their rare traits. They thought they were so much better than the rest of them.

Sakura quickly glanced at the door to the private room they were in.

The other branch commanders still hadn’t shown up. Samuel was the only one who answered when she had tried phoning them.

Where were they?

What’s going on?

Sakura had a bad feeling but she didn’t know why.

She looked down at the bruised and battered girl in the arena below.

C’mon Casey, she thought. I believe in you.

Everyone in the student climber waiting area was glued to the TV screen.

All the students took a step closer to the TV or if they were sitting down leaned a bit further to make sure they were witnessing everything there was to see.

“So it looks like the young Casey Everton is not down for the fight just yet. How will she fight back against the swift Sybil Westley? Does the young girl have any tricks of her own up her sleeve? We’ll just have to watch to find out!”

Max watched with renewed hope and excitement for his friend. She had got up from the blow. She was still in this fight.

He petted Toto who was also perked up and watching the fight on the screen.

“What a fool!” shouted Cyrus at the TV. “Sybil is now going to injure her for life, if not outright kill her.”

Max shuddered and petted Toto.

C’mon Casey, he thought to himself. Tell me you have a strategy here.

Casey stood on her feet, still a little shaky.

She lifted her fists up, taking on a fighting stance.

“Don’t blame me later,” said Sybil. “I offered you mercy and you spat it back in my face.”

“Remember those words,” Casey shouted back. “When you’re begging me to stop the pain.”

You just have to survive Sybil’s next attack, Casey said to herself. Survive the next blow and you have a fighting chance.

Sybil rushed at her with lightning speed once more. Wind swirled all around her as she sprinted, picking up more and more speed.

Sybil moved so fast she disappeared again into a small tornado gust of wind.

BOOM!

The audience went into a hushed silence, terrified yet eager to see the results of Sybil’s newest deadly attack.

Smoke, dirt, and wind spiraled in the center of the arena.

“I can’t see anything,” shouted Sakura.

“I don’t think you’re going to want to see behind that smoke,” said Samuel. “It won’t be pretty that’s for sure.”

Max and the others looked on the TV screen capturing the spiraling dirt and debris.

The smoke slowly cleared.

“No way!”

“I don’t believe it!”

A figure emerged from the smoke.

It was Casey.

She was still standing.

84

Casey stood in the arena, undamaged from Sybil’s most recent attack.

Sybil was behind her in a cratered area of cracked ground where her attack had landed.

The powerful girl span around and shouted at Casey. “How did you do that fake-vein?”

Casey smirked.

There was no doubt in Casey’s mind that Sybil could manipulate the wind to a far greater degree than she could. That said, because Casey was also an airbringer, she was able to control the wind just enough that she could counteract and deflate the power and speed of Sybil’s move. Not entirely, but enough so that Sybil wouldn’t notice and that Casey would still be able to dodge the attack.

Sybil scowled at her.

Casey shrugged and stuck out her tongue.

“Better luck next time,” she teased.

“Very well done,” said the climber president. “Young Casey used the wind to deflate Ms. Wesley’s attack.”

They all murmured in agreement.

“An impressive counter indeed,” said Samuel with slight irritation in his voice.

“I guess proof that those from non-traditional climber backgrounds being weaker than those from climber families is a bunch of bogus nonsense,” said Sakura, crossing her arms smugly at Samuel.

The man’s face went red and he kept his eyes focused on the match.

What are you up to, Samuel? thought Sakura. Why are you and I the only branch commanders here right now?

Sybil brushed dirt off her clothes and readied herself for another attack.

“Nice trick,” she said. “But I won’t fall for it again. You’re not getting out of this alive, fake-vein! Just accept it. I’m a Westley and you’re a nobody!”

The words sliced through Casey’s mind.

Her eyes widened as memories rushed through her.

You’re a nobody...

A few weeks after the fountain ceremony, when ten-year-old Casey had discovered she had a profile and a trait, her and her family had been invited to a special event hosted by the climber’s guild.

It was an outdoor barbecue for unranked climbers and their families to come and meet one another.

Casey and her family stuck out like sore thumbs.

They looked poor, but even worse, they looked traitless.

Casey saw two kids playing nearby and she decided to approach them.

She had always been good at making friends at her old elementary school. She’d poke someone in the shoulder and pretend not to notice, goofy little pranks like that to get kid’s attention and get them to play with her. Then she’d start doing similar goofy jokes on other kids with her new friends until they were all a happy gang of kids playing with each